Sweet and Sour

Today I had my Phs. Therapy checkup. I have to go in daily for treatment and progress check ups. My knee is feeling tons better from the MRS (they gave me another one today) which is one of the types of treatment I have to have. The doctors told me that my knee injury was not sudden and was a thing that had to be developed over time. Kinda like a bomb, you set it, then all of a sudden it blows up! As a ballerina, (mostly) you have it set in stone that you are supposed to have long, lean, muscles. Now, when the doctors told me that part of the reason my knee was injured was because my 'glutes' (in normal words, your butt) were not strong enough, therefor putting un-needed pressure on my knees, I wasn't surprised. Now I have to do lots of therapy exercises to strengthen my knee and my glutes. I have to do a million squats, which are hard for me, ride my bike for 30 min on a flat surface, swim and do 'bunny hops in the pool, and lots of more fancy things that are supposed to help me recover. The good thing is, that the doctor said that it was VERY common for regular, and ballerina, people to be weak in the rear. What happens, is the quads take over, and then your knees get unnecessary pressure, which can cause problems over time. The doctors taped my knee with special tape that gives my knee cap, and my muscles extra support so i don't die when I start to walk. The tape is water 'resistant' but I still have to wrap my leg with a mile of plastic wrap and duct tape to keep it from getting wet when I shower or get in the pool. It does NOT work. Today they gave me an electric treatment which didn't hurt, but tingled in a weird way. they hooked me up to this machine and put these stickers on me, with wires attached to the edges of them. I sat there and they turned the knob on the machine up until I said stop. As for dancing, sadly the doctor laughed at that notion. I am physically incapable of dancing right now with out hurting, and possibly destroying my knee. It is getting tons better, and quickly too, but the doctors said that I couldn't even test to see if I could dance until I could jump up and down on my left leg (the one with my 'crippled' knee) 50 times without it hurting at all. Today, I did 12 jumps. They want an active recovery, so I am doing the therapy exercises and icing it a ton! Tomorrow I go back to therapy at nine and they are going to re-assess me, and re-tape me and do whatever else God has planned for me. At least they have good magazines to look at! Today I learned how to de-clutter your bathroom from some home decor magazine. Apparently, it's 'IN' to paint your bathroom white, and have jars of sand and rocks that cost more than a car sitting on your toilet. Okay, so maybe not as much as a car...

Drawbacks

I have been having knee pain lately, but i ignored it. I am dancing every day for 5 weeks for seven hours a day. I went to physical theorpy today and, because I was ignoring it, I tore a ligament and strained a tendon. If you ever get hurt in any way, do something about it.  Tomorow I go in to theropy again and they are going to tell me if i can continue to dance. I am healing though, they gave me an MRS which is like a magnetic treatment. I also got laser treatment:) which made it feel tons better. wish me luck for tomorow!

Libatha

One of  many of my good friends is leaving next year, so I talked to my friend William Shakespeare, and he pulled out an earlier draft of the Jabberwocky and gave it to me via text messsage. Let me just say that this was Mr. Shakespeare's impression of The Libatha, and I may agree with some of it, but still I think that it is funny that he wrote this about his deranged poodle, named elisabeth, and my friend, who we nicknamed the Libatha, also along with the poodle, kinda a little relates to this poem.

'Twas sunset, and the pinkalicious sky    Did bacon and poo bars in the wind; All dirty was the tap floor,    And the libatha wraths begin. "Beware the Libitha, my dearie    The eyes that burn, the souls they catch! Beware the gingerbird, and shun    The furious libbysnatch!" She took her Vera Bradley lunchbox in hand;    It's a long time till lunch starts she thought— So rested she by the deadly water fountain tree,    And many souls she caught. And, as in scary thought she stood,    The libatha, with hair of pain, Came jeteing through the ACMA wood,    And burped as she came! One, two! One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight! And through and through    her vicious soul catching lunchbox went NOM, NOM! she sucked the soul dead, and with its head    she went jeteing back. "And who will slay the libatha?    Come to the ballet barre, my beamish Ms. Ravioli! O BAGEL day! CREAM CHEESE! Callay!"    I danced in her joy. 'Twas sunset, and the pinkalicious sky    Did bacon and poo bars in the wind; All dirty was the tap floor,    And the libatha wraths begin.

Birthday

Tomorow is my best friends birthday and I just went to get her present. I am so excited to see her face when she open it! At school we are having a picnic type thing, and are going to have a party with cake and brownies. She has celiac disease, which means she can't eat gluton so everything has to be gluton free. In honor of her, I am not eating gluton this week.

Sick

Right now I am sick in bed. 

:(

I saw hunger games today and loved it! I was a big fan of the books even before the movie came out. I even sent in my headshot and resume to the producers to audition for prim! But that was last year. I have to admit, they casted everyone really well, except Peeta was shorter than Katniss. Cinna rocked the gold eyeliner, and Effie was hilarious! They casted haymitch amazingly! He was just as I imagined him while reading the books.

Yumm!!!!

These are some healthy yummy foods I like to eat for in between dance classes, rehearsals, shows, school, homework, and sleep.

Oranges, apples, granola bars, LUNA bars, trail mix, sugar snap peas, organic vegetables, smoothies, oatmeal, walnuts, banana chips, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, ham, strawberries, blueberries, poo bars (lara bars), yoghurt, greek yoghurt, and whole wheat toast with a thin layer of 100% honey.

Sometimes, it is hard to find foods that keep me full of food and energy. Some days, after a specific dance class in the afternoon, my mom brings me a special sandwich from Cafe Yumm!! it has lettuce, tomato, cream cheese, onions, turkey, and cranberry scauce. IT IS SOOOOO GOOD!!!!!!! It kinda sounds like thanksgiving in one, but it is to die for!!!

Two ways

              This is the Wrong way to do pointe work

                  

The right way, your toes are straight in your shoes, not curled

Dancers

 

"The trained dancer must not only have grace and elegance,

but also the leap of an Olympic hurdler,

the balance of a tight-rope walker

and panther-like strength and agility."

- Camilla Jessel

“Great dancers are not great because of their technique,

they are great because of their passion.”

- Martha Graham

Dance is an art, paint your dream and follow it.

- Steven Thompson

"Dance is your pulse, your heartbeat, your breathing.

It's the rhythm of your life.

It's the expression in time and movement, 

in happiness, joy, sadness and envy."

- Jaques D'Amboise

Chin Up!!!!

A few days ago, I was at pointe class, and i was going across the floor and doing a jump, when all of a sudden, I slipped and fell on the floor. Everyone was laughing at me and it was not a good experience then, but making mistakes make you a stronger person. When you make a mistake, your supposed to get up and hold your head high, or as my ballet teacher says, "Chin Up!!!"

Stretch

Being a dancer, I know how important it is to stretch. You should stretch every day or you will become extremely tight. Your muscles in your body are constantly working hard, so a good idea is to stretch. Stretching not only helps you become more flexible, but it gives you strength and just makes you feel good. I like to stretch out my hamstrings, hips, and feet. I also like to do yoga, it relaxes me and also develops strength in my core.

Confidence

In anything you do, confidences key. When you are dancing it is important to be confident in what you are doing. It is OK to mess up, that is part of learning, just hold your head high, fix your mistake, and remember your corrections. If the teacher asks you to demonstrate, he/she might be wanting to help you learn, or help others learn. It is OK to not be top of your class, you don't just get up there immediately, you have to work hard, be confident, and focus. In order to get to the top, you have to start at the bottom. I have this friend, and today she was being hard on herself because she couldn't get the ballet combination right, THATS OK!!!!! Everyone messes up and you learn from your mistakes. She is really a great dancer but needs to be more confident. Don't be that tiny dancer in the corner, get up there, smile, and be confident!

Pointe shoes

If you are looking to buy pointe shoes, once you are ready, I recomend Bloch. Capezio has this weird thing at the toe that is suposed to make the shoe more comfy, but for me, it is not. Bloch shoes are made for all kinds of different feet. I have tapered feet (my toes curve in like a upsidown V) so it makes it so my toes aren't smooshed, and they look pretty on my feet. If you have really flexible feet, like in the picture of pointe shoes below, I recomend a double shank (the 'sole' of the shoe) so your shoes last longer. There are lots of different types of bloch shoes, but it depends on your own foot to tell which one is right for you. Russian pointe is also good but it tends to be more expensive. I also like morello point shoes.

Pointe

If you do Ballet or have seen it, you would know what pointe is. To be 'On Point' you are strong enough to own wooden shoes with satin on the outside and glossy ribbons, and dance on your toes instead of just normal canvas/leather ballet slippers. Here are my tips for you if you are interested on being on point.
1- Don't cheat and just go and buy point shoes without training. Point takes strength, flexibility, strong will, and specific muscles in your foot only developed by a ballerina.
2-DON'T TRY TO TEACH YOUR SELF!!! you could break you ankle and never be able to dance or walk again. get training if you really are passionate about pointe.
3-Eat well. If you want to be a ballerina, you have to fuel your body with the best foods for it. Good food is proven to give you more energy, and keeps you healthy.
4-Stretch. flexibility of the body helps you to get stronger and keeps you in shape for pointe.
5-Pay attention to details in your regular ballet classes. everyone wants to move up but it takes hard-work and love to achieve your goals, not just in Ballet but in anything you want to do.

Ballet

Out of Dance, Ballet is my favorite. It makes me feel graceful and beautiful and strong all at the same time. I did ballet when I was little and am continuing to do it now. My week is packed with dance filled hours, and every morning I wake up with sore muscles and the knowledge of knowing I have to do it all over again, and I love it. I want to be on Broadway when I grow up and hope to be like the talented artists on Broadway today. Not the people who bought their way into fame, but a talented hardworking individual who does not take NO for an answer. One of my teachers today told us to write what our goals for the future are. There once was a strong women named Adele Astaire. She was Fred Astaire's first dance partner and sister. Many said that she was the better tap dancer than the two, and deserved fame, but she did what she wanted and got married and had a family. Instead of becoming famous and out shine her brother, she followed her dream and lived her life happily. Fred Astaire later became a world famous Tap dancer and lived the hollywood glamour life. My point is, Adele Astaire Knew what she wanted and put her dream of a family first before anything. My dream is to be on Broadway, but I hope to be like Adele Astaire, and work hard, have fun, and achieve my dream. I also would love to tour with a Ballet company like the Joffery ballet, but first I have to train and become stronger and more experianced.

The Next Generation

I am a performer. Ever since I could talk, (and maybe even before then) I was making up songs and singing in front of my stuffed animals, or just moving to the beat, being a dancing queen. I am one of many of the next generation of performers. I have been going to a performing arts school for three years. My school has helped give me training and a taste of how performing really is in the real world. My teachers were/are skilled people who were taken 'out of their field' to teach. For example, one of my dance teachers performed on Broadway when she was in high school, and spent her life on the stage. We are the next generation of people, maybe all not performers, but whatever you are good at, use it for good in the world and find your inspiration.